


A Fate Unwanted

by reyloiscanon



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-03-09 15:41:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13484628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reyloiscanon/pseuds/reyloiscanon
Summary: It is junior year at Coruscant University. Kylo Ren walks in late to his organic chemistry class to see a girl sitting in his seat. What will happen when fate causes them to be lab partners for the semester?





	1. His Seat

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Lab Partners by mk_solo98 !!!

A sliver of sunlight peaks through the blinds of Rey’s rundown New York studio apartment awakening her. With no sight of her roommate/best friend Finn, Rey figured that he had already left for work at the local coffee shop. Still groggy from sleep, she grabs her phone and looks at the time. It’s 8:45 a.m and she has overslept.

Rey knows she should never have signed up for a 9 a.m organic chemistry class, but it was the only way it would fit into her schedule. Rushing to get out the door, she throws on an oversized grey t-shirt, black ripped jeans and slips on her red high top chuck taylors. Before she leaves, she unweaves her braid from the night before, giving her hair soft waves. Rey grabs her backpack and is on her way to campus.

The September sun grazes Rey’s freckled complexion as she quickly walks to Coruscant University. The campus is a 15-minute walk away, and Rey knows she is screwed. Her professor, Dr. Snoke was quite possibly the most bitter professor she had encountered at university in her 2 years there. It was barely the third day since school had started and she was going to be late to his stupid chemistry class.

When Rey arrived at the campus at 9:05, she was relieved to discover that Professor Snoke had not yet arrived. She had picked the right day to be late. Dr. Snoke was known around campus for his surly and patronizing personality. He had absolutely no sympathy for anyone.

Snoke arrived several minutes after Rey and the students shuffled into the classroom. Not knowing anyone in her organic chemistry class, Rey kept her head down and settled in a lab chair towards the very back of the class hoping to go unnoticed.

Ever since Rey moved to New York from Jakku, New Jersey she hadn’t made many new friends at university. She had moved to New York two years ago with her best friend Finn before the fall semester of her freshman year at Coruscant. Finn was her foster brother back in Jakku, where they lived with a family who fostered them for their own financial benefits. Rey and Finn both decided that they would save up together and move to New York City to attend college.

About 15 minutes into Snoke’s lecture on aromatic compounds, a loud slam of a door drifted her back to reality. She glanced up to see a tall man wearing pure black walk into class. Rey never really paid much attention to her classmates, but he stuck out like a sore thumb. Although Rey doesn’t like to admit it, she is intrigued by the mystery man in black.

“Mr. Ren, good for you to join us this morning. Tardiness is unacceptable in my class. Do not let this happen again.” Snoke spat.

Kylo nodded and began to walk straight to the back of the class where Rey sat.

“You’re in my seat.” Kylo hissed.

“Oh, I didn’t know this seat belonged to you. I mean I don’t see your name anywhere claiming it to be you-” but before Rey could finish, Snoke  
interrupted.

“Miss Kenobi, Mr. Ren, care to explain why you are disrupting in the middle of my lesson?”

Rey’s face began to redden. “Oh um, he was just asking me what he missed while he wasn’t here.” she lied.

Snoke's face looked of annoyment, yet he continued with his lesson pretending as if nothing had happened.

Kylo scoffed and took a seat in the empty chair next to her. _Asshole_ Rey thought to herself.

The two-hour long lecture was finally over and right before the class began to pack up their things, Professor Snoke announced, “For the rest of the semester, your lab partner will be the person sitting at your table. There will be no changing of lab partners. End of story. It is important that you and your partner work together or figure something out because labs will be 30% of your final grade. That is all. You are dismissed.”

Of course. Out of all the seats in the class, she was sitting next to Kylo Ren. The entitled asshole.


	2. The Truce

* * *

 

Rey slightly turns her head and glares at her now new lab partner letting out a large huff, “Great just when I thought the day couldn’t get any worse.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

With that, Rey grabs her book bag and walks across the street from campus to Crait Cafe to visit Finn at work and get some studying in after possibly the worst day at school. During her walk, Rey slowly breaths in and out counting to ten to help calm her boiling blood. Rey likes to think of herself as headstrong, but something about her new lab partner really gets under her skin. Seriously, who does he think he is?

As Rey opens the glass door leading into the cafe, a jingle of a bell alerts a familiar face of her arrival.

“Hey peanut, what’s wrong? You look upset,” Finn questions with a frown on his face.

“Yeah I guess you could say that.” Rey finally lets out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in and continues, “This guy was being a complete bastard and with just my luck we were assigned as lab partners for the entire semester.”

“Wow. Seems like you two really hit it off!” He replies as huge grin sweeps across his face.

“Oh yeah, totally! He is definitely a ray of sunshine.”

“Here drink this. Don’t worry it’s on the house. You look like you desperately need some caffeine after the morning you’ve had.”

Rey smiles weakly as Finn hands her a steaming cup of coffee just the way she likes it. Dark roast, no sugar and with a splash of milk.

Gripping the warm cup in her hands, Rey settles down at a table by the wall facing the front of the cafe. Feeling motivated by the caffeine boost, she opens her textbook and starts to complete the homework that Dr. Snoke had assigned during class.

Only a couple minutes into her homework session, she hears the ring of a bell causing her to subconsciously lift her head from her work. There stood the brooding figure of none other than Kylo Ren. She just couldn’t escape him. Rey quickly averted her gaze back to her homework after realizing she had been staring. To her surprise, he approaches her table and pulls out the chair across from and asks, “Is this seat taken?”

Rey slowly raises her head that is now shoved in her textbook to see Kylo standing next to the chair directly across from her.

“If you’re planning to be an asshole again, then yes.”

Running his hands through his luscious black locks, he sits down but doesn’t speak. He just stares at her.

“Is there something you need from me? Because I’m kind of busy right now,” she says pointing down to her homework sprawled out on the table.

“Don’t sit in my seat next time.”

Rey scoffs, “You’re actually pathetic. You seriously followed me to this coffee shop to tell me not to sit in your seat. Why do you care so much if I do anyway? It’s a fucking chair.”

“And why do you take such interest in my preference of seating? And no, I didn’t follow you, so don’t flatter yourself,” he quickly responds.

Rey stays quiet for a minute just staring into his dark brown eyes. She then brings herself to speak, “Like I said before, if you’re just going to be an asshole then leave.”

Kylo should just get up and leave like she is suggesting, but something inside him is telling him to stay. Her spunk is intriguing. No one has ever tried to challenge him, but she isn’t afraid to. It is almost as if she enjoys it. And he kinda does too.

“Actually, I was thinking that since we both happen to be sitting here we should try to get to know each other.”

“And what makes you think I would want to do that?”

“Well seeing that we will be spending a lot of time as lab partners this semester, it might be best if we didn’t completely hate each other.”

“Oh, so your idea of getting me to warm up to you is by being a prick? I don’t quite see how that would make things easier.”

“You’re not so pleasant yourself sunshine. You really think I want you to be my lab partner? But seeing that there is no way out of this unfortunate dilemma, I say we call a truce.”

“A truce?”

“Yes, as in we put this behind us and try to start over.”

Kylo reaches his hand out across the table waiting for a response to his proposal. Rey hesitates, but answers by extending her hand to meet his. With the slight connection of skin on skin contact, a tingling sensation rushes through her body. They shake hands never breaking eye contact and she wonders if he feels it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Please feel free to leave possible plots for these two in the comments. I have some ideas, but some suggestions would be appreciated :)


	3. A New Feeling

* * *

Before class Wednesday morning, Rey walks from her apartment to Crait Cafe to get an 8 A.M pick me up. When she walks inside, she is greeted by none other than Poe Dameron. Poe is Finn’s boyfriend of almost two years now. They met in a bar when he and Rey first moved to New York and they have been together ever since. Poe is basically her older brother much like Finn.

  
“Hey Rey! What can I get you today? Let me guess, your usual?”  
  
“Yes, please. Oh, and can you add a black coffee. Both to go because I got class in a few minutes.”  
  
“Who are you buying coffee for? Got a secret boyfriend?” Poe said with the biggest smirk spread across his face.  
  
“Not my boyfriend. Lab Partner,” Rey chimed back.  
  
“Hmmm, I saw you two chatting it up over there the other day. Mr tall, dark and handsome? You two were practically having eye sex.”  
  
Rey scoffs, “We were not! He’s just my lab partner. Nothing else.”  
  
“Whatever you say sunshine.”  
  
He hands Rey the two coffees to go, one black and the other with a splash of milk just how she likes it. As she makes her way over to campus, Rey glances down and notices the names on the cups. On reads _Rey_ and the other reads _Rey’s Boyfriend_. The next time she sees him she is going to kill him right after she gives him a piece of her mind. He seriously needs to stop trying to set her up. She is perfectly content being single.  
  
When she finally steps into class, she settles in the empty seat next to Kylo.  
  
She extends her arm and states, “I brought you coffee, It’s just black because you don’t strike me as the cream and sugar type of guy.”  
  
“How did you know?”  
  
“Lucky guess?” She replied with a shrug of her shoulders.  
  
“You really didn’t have to.”  
  
“Then just take it as an apology for being bitchy with you the other day.”  
  
“Rey is apologizing to me? I never thought I would see the day,” Kylo grinned exposing his quirky smile.  
  
“Just take the damn drink before I change my mind.”  
  
Kylo grabs the coffee cup from her hands without further hesitation. Rey prays that he doesn’t see the name scribbled on his cup. He places the coffee next to his computer and reverts his gaze back to his screen. If he noticed, he doesn’t say a word to her.  
  
Rey and Kylo sip their coffee as Dr. Snoke begins to introduce their first lab of the year. Not wanting to waste precious class time, Snoke announced that all lab preparations would be done on their own time outside of class.  
  
The next hour and a half of the lecture felt like it dragged on forever. Snoke must love to hear himself talk because the entire class was constant babbling about the stability of aromatic compounds. The clock struck 11 A.M and class was finally dismissed.  
  
Packing up her laptop and textbook, Rey turns to Kylo and simply asks, “Okay so how do you want to do this?”  
  
“Um doesn’t really matter to me. My apartment isn’t too far from campus if you wanted to work on it there. If not we can always go the cafe. The lab is on Monday so we should work on it sometime this weekend if that’s alright with you.”  
  
“Apartment works with me and I’m free tomorrow night.” Rey was forced to choose the apartment option because she really couldn’t risk going back to the coffee shop after Poe’s little incident today.  
  
“Rey Kenobi is free on a Friday night? Aren’t you supposed to be partying? That’s the college dream, right?!”  
  
“Well not for me.”  
  
Grabbing her bag, she began to make her way to the front of the classroom when she felt a tug on her arm causing her to turn around and face Kylo.  
  
“Can I have your number? You know so we can get in touch about the lab and stuff.”  
  
She grabs the phone and begins to type the digits of her phone number into a new contact. When she’s finished, she hands the phone back with a smirk on her face.  
  
“See ya Friday Kylo.”  
  
Before he knows it, Rey is gone and he is left standing in the middle of the empty lecture hall completely baffled. Something about Rey makes Kylo feel uneasy. It’s a feeling he isn’t quite used to. The feeling of happiness.


	4. Back to the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me please :) Took a curveball, but it adds to the plot.

 

The next two days felt like an eternity. Kylo was left counting down the days until he would see Rey again. There was something about her that just simply infatuated him and he couldn’t get enough. Her presence was in his mind and he couldn’t shake it away. Ever since he left home never looking back at age 18, he was forced to become independent. But with his independence came loneliness. He voided his loneliness with whiskey shots and drunk hookups. He felt like the girls he affiliated with could never be more than just a drunken mistake. Kylo wasn’t the type for romance and love. But with Rey, he felt different for some reason he can’t explain. He didn’t want her to be like the rest. He wanted something more.

The first thing he did Friday morning was check his phone in the hopes of having a text message. To his surprise, his lockscreen read: 1 New Message from Rey.

Without noticing, the biggest grin swept across his face. He typed in his passcode quickly and opened the message.

Rey: Hey Kylo, it’s Rey. Are we still on for tonight?

Kylo typed his response and hit send.

Kylo: Yes. 7 P.M?

Three dots popped up indicating she was responding. A few seconds later his phone lit up.

Rey: Perfect. See you then.

Kylo locked his phone and stared up at the ceiling from his bed. _“This is really happening. A girl is coming to your apartment.”_ Not just any girl he reminded himself. _‘Rey’_. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _‘Don’t fuck this up for yourself’_.

* * *

Much like Kylo, Rey has experienced her fair share of loneliness. Growing up in the foster system she didn’t have much experience with love. She felt incapable of being loved. This is why she never indulge in relationships. Rey has a history of withdrawing when she catches feelings for someone. She is the one to break things off before they can even evolve into something more. The feeling of being not good enough is something she can’t fathom to deal with again.

Just before 6 o'clock, Rey stepped out of the shower studying herself in the mirror. _‘Is this a date? I mean there is no way. Stop overthinking everything. A guy like_ Kylo _could never like you. Look at yourself.’_ Thoughts kept rushing through her mind the longer she stared at her reflection. _‘You’re just a plain jane after all. What could he possibly see in you?’_

Once she was dressed and ready, Rey double checked she had her supplies for the lab and started to make way to Kylo’s apartment. Since she moved to New York about 3 years ago, Rey never felt it was necessary to purchase a car. Everywhere she needed to go was in walking distance and if not, there was always the subway. To be quite honest, a car was a luxury she simply couldn’t afford. She could barely afford rent and groceries every month with her minimum wage job as a waitress at Maz’s Diner.

25 minutes later, Rey was standing outside Kylo’s apartment. She checked the text message he had sent her with his address several times before actually knocking. She wanted to be sure that it was the right apartment number.

A few moments later, the wood door swung open revealing Kylo’s face.

He stared at the girl before him for a moment before smiling, “Hey, you made it.”

“Of course I did. We do have an assignment to work on,” teased Rey.

Kylo gestured Rey to come inside before shutting and locking the door. Rey’s eyes widened as she admired his flat.

 _‘Woah. He must be loaded, this place is unreal. I could fit 3 of my apartments in here.’_ she thought to herself.

Kylo’s place was far beyond anything she could ever afford. She knew his neighborhood was nice, but this was far more than what she expected. Unlike her outdated apartment, his was sleek and modern. It consisted of white walls, grey furniture, and black hardwood floor. Not to mention the killer view of the city. This wasn’t just any apartment, his was a penthouse.

Rey turned around from gawking at the night view to face Kylo, “So are you a closet millionaire or what? There is no way the average college student could afford this.”

A chuckle escaped his mouth as he responded, “Sadly no I am not. My grandfather left it for me when he passed. My mom and dad were pissed about it, but they got over it eventually. ”

To break the awkward silence that filled the room, Kylo asked, “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Water please.”

Rey fidgeted the hem of her sweater while Kylo filled a glass with water. Once he was done pouring the glass he extended the glass to her and she grabbed it with shaky hands.

“So, you ready to do the lab?”

“Yes, the lab. Let’s get it over with.” Rey was so distracted she forgot the real reason she was here in the first place. _‘He’s just a lab partner. Nothing more.’_

* * *

 

Forty-five minutes later, the lab preparations were finally complete. Kylo dropped his pencil, stretching his arms above his head. Trying to think of a way to avoid Rey from leaving he quickly blurted out, “Hey are you hungry? I can order takeout or something?”

To his luck, she responded, “Food sounds amazing after all this hard work.”

“So pizza?” questioned Kylo.

“Is that even a question?” she mocked.

Amused, a laugh escaped his mouth as he reached his phone to order a pizza from Domino’s.

While they waited for the pizza to arrive they made small talk about school and what their majors were. Rey knew this question was coming and she wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

“So Rey, how did you end up in the states. I can tell by your accent that you obviously aren’t around here.”

This was something only Finn and Poe knew about her, but she couldn’t lie to him. Rey paused for a second and took a shaky deep breath. “Both my parents were born and raised in England but moved to the states to start their life together. When I was 6 years old they died in a car accident on the way to pick me up from school. They were the only family I had. After their death, I was put into the foster system. Since I was already older, I was never adopted and jumped from home to home. I was in the last foster home from when I was 11 to 18. My foster dad was really abusive. He forced me to work in his mechanic shop in trade for food. If I refused, he would beat and starve me. So my foster brother Finn and I left as soon as we graduated high school. We fled from New Jersey to New York and have been here ever since.”

Rey's head was pointed down towards her lap in hopes of concealing the tears that were escaping her eyes. She tried her best to hold the tears back, but the bottled emotions just sort of exploded.

Rey felt a hand graze her check and swipe away the liquid formed underneath her eyes. The gesture pulled her out of her thoughts causing her to look up and lock her tear-filled eyes with Kylo’s.

“Rey. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

Realising she just exposed her vulnerability, she quickly put her walls back up. “I don’t need your pity. Forget I said anything.”

“You’re not alone.” He spoke as his hand gently caressed her cheek.

“Don’t.” She pleas, pushing Kylo’s hand away from her face.

“Rey, it’s okay to feel hurt. I feel it too.”

“Just stop! You don’t know what it feels like to live most of your childhood feeling unwanted and unloved. And don’t you dare try and say you do. You have a family that gives a damn about you!” She lashed out as more tears threatened to escape.

“You don’t know a thing about me,” Kylo shouted.

“You’re right. I don’t.” 

Before the pizza could even arrive, she was gone. The entire way home she cried. She thought Kylo was different. Turns out he’s still just an entitled asshole.  



	5. Help Wanted

Hi everyone. Sorry for the lack of posting, but I've ran out of motivation for this story. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in co-writing with me by chance?


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